Chuck Vs. the Balcony

After a brief winter hiatus Chuck returned with our favorite underachieving geek turned spy looking for the perfect scenario to propose to Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski). The mission to recover the microchip gives us several fun moments including a late twist foreshadowed earlier in a conversation between Sarah and Gen. Beckman (Bonita Friedericy), Sarah pretending to be drunk, and Morgan and Chuck’s (Zachary Levi) homage to The Court Jester as Chuck frantically searches for a “peppery pinot with a stable on the label on the cork.”

Aside from Morgan’s role as matchmaker there’s also a terribly sweet moment where he gives Sarah his permission to marry his best friend as well as an uncharacteristically human moment between Casey (Adam Baldwin) and Chuck about what a proposal is really about. Chuck and Morgan’s floundering attempts to find the perfect proposal are saved by Sarah who takes control of the situation, at least until… well, I don’t want to spoil it if you haven’t watched yet.

The episode’s B-story involves Lester’s (Vik Sahay) attempts to avoid and then woo the woman his parents have set up an arranged marriage. It’s the weakest part of the episode does supply some laughs as well as the return of Jeffster! performing Whitesnake’s “Is This Love.”

Needless to say, this is one of the season’s best episodes with our characters surrounded by danger, intrigue and the beautiful French countryside. The final few moments also mark an important shift in the season arc meaning we should soon be seeing the return of both Linda Hamilton and Timothy Dalton.